Withered vines coiled around a small, hidden temple. Sadly, there was no stream or secluded path in front, only a bottomless abyss.

On a prayer mat,

a Bodhisattva wearing a solemn mask had just finished worshiping at the offering table with nothing on it.

As he rose,

at the entrance,

a majestic middle-aged man in a purple python robe had already appeared.

"Not going to offer a prayer?"

the Bodhisattva asked.

The middle-aged man shook his head. "Still nothing up there."

The Bodhisattva remained noncommittal and walked to the entrance, stepping over the threshold.

The middle-aged man followed him, maintaining a composed demeanor with just the right amount of respect.

"For thousands of years, others have been worshiping us. Too much smoke makes one lightheaded, so we need to find something to kneel before, just to, well, dispel the bad luck."

"Can you find it?"

"It's enough to have it in your heart."

The Bodhisattva put his hands together in prayer.

"Also, are you so sure you really can't find it?"

"I didn't come here to discuss Buddhism with you."

The middle-aged man stood with his hands clasped behind his back, and at that moment, even the sea of clouds seemed to prostrate itself at his feet.

"Your Dharma body, has it recovered?" the Bodhisattva asked.

The middle-aged man nodded, then shook his head.

"It has recovered, but I still can't forget that scene. Perhaps you're right, indeed..."

"He's different, different." The Bodhisattva interrupted the middle-aged man. "An era, a period of fortune, the establishment of yin and yang, the foundation lies in the cycle.

This world is about one person leaving the stage and another taking over. This era doesn't belong to you anymore. Forcing your way up won't last long, at most, you'll stir up a little ripple like last time.

From ancient times to now,

there are actually quite a few who are still苟活 (gǒu huó, barely surviving), but they have all chosen to lie dormant. In fact, prolonged dormancy is also a form of domestication, and once you are domesticated, you are no longer yourself.

You become a flower or a tree by the roadside, rain in the wind, thunder in the clouds, you become nature.

The Xiezhi (a mythical unicorn-like creature) sleeps in its true form, transforming into thousands of entities. Seemingly glorious, it can be called the most dazzling of the ancient ferocious beasts that have survived to this day.

But what's the difference between its approach and simply turning itself into the rules of the Heavenly Dao, becoming a branch of the rules under the Heavenly Dao?

It's not living for itself, but gradually giving up itself in order to live.

That one, the former master of the Nether Sea, for countless years, we all thought he had fallen long ago, but he has returned, but what can he do?

A scroll of wind and clouds moves the underworld,

but in the end, it's just a temporary ripple.

In short, their era has passed, and the stage no longer belongs to them."

"Is that also talking about us?"

The middle-aged man asked.

"Others may not be clear, but don't you understand?

These Ten Attendants, they aren't my people. Replacing you with them is just following the trend of this stage change, just following the general trend.

As far as I'm concerned,

up here,

whether it's you or them sitting, what difference does it make?"

"Still not reconciled." The middle-aged man said in a deep voice. "This is also what the other few are thinking."

"But you can see it clearly."

The Bodhisattva took a few steps forward,

to the edge closest to the cliff.

There,

grew a golden lotus.

The Bodhisattva's hand gently stroked the petals.

"I don't think I can see it clearly."

The Bodhisattva laughed.

Although he was wearing a mask,

when he laughed,

you could feel the heartfelt joy of the surrounding vegetation.

"That monkey is attacking the main city. With such a big commotion, if you didn't believe it, how could you be standing here talking to me so calmly?"

The middle-aged man was silent.

"Isn't it because you're certain that the era of Mount Tai is also over, those former legacies, those former remnants, even if they jump out again, they'll only jump a few times.

Stirring up some commotion is possible, but wanting to pierce the sky, or even change the sky, is that possible?"

"But that's the original monkey."

The Bodhisattva laughed again.

The wind on the cliff also became gentle as a result.

At this moment,

the surrounding scenery became soft and hazy, a scene of auspiciousness.

"You just feel that, anyway, your era is about to pass, the stage is about to be given up, and you're too lazy to clean up this mess."

The Bodhisattva reached out,

and gently plucked the golden lotus in front of him,

and threw it into the abyss.

Instantly,

golden dancing butterflies fluttered,

rising slowly,

obscuring this sea of clouds.

"Shouldn't we? We old fellows are all preparing to pack our bags and retire, why should we clean up their new house for them?"

The Bodhisattva sighed.

"So, of the ten of you, the one I've always admired most is Lu.

He only cares about what he should do, needs to do, and can do, without thinking about anything else.

You all,

are old men from the Mount Tai era,

but only he doesn't carry the decaying aura of Mount Tai."

After hearing the name "Lu," the middle-aged man was silent.

"The time for the stage hasn't arrived yet. The fixed game, the method of fortune, what's emphasized is still gradual progress. Haste makes waste.

Before, the Ten Attendants took action and destroyed the Hall of King Equality, one of the Ten Kings of Hell was missing;

then,

that incident happened immediately,

one finger of the Ten Attendants' ten fingers was severed."

The Bodhisattva turned around,

looked at the middle-aged man, and continued:

"This is the drawback of taking the stage early. Standing in the middle of the stage is a glory, but also a shackle.

Once you stand on it, even if you know you're about to voluntarily step down, but if the time isn't right, try stepping down early?"

The Bodhisattva raised his hand,

and the golden dancing butterflies in the sky gathered together and transformed into a golden Kun (a mythical giant fish).

The Kun's form was vast,

transforming into a dazzling golden light.

At this moment,

it directly illuminated this area like daylight.

Then,

it soared up with a roar,

heading straight for the east!

"The main city can be broken, the Yin Court is so big after all, losing a main city won't shake the foundation of the Yin Court, but the hearts of the people can't be completely scattered yet.

We have to let those eyes hidden in the surrounding darkness see,

this stage,

we are going to step down,

but,

the next group to step up,

will definitely not be them.

Moreover,

the order of this Yin and Yang is not yet time for a complete change, gradual progress, still needs to be gradual."

The Bodhisattva put his hands together in prayer,

and chanted the Heart Sutra towards the east.

That golden bird,

carrying the glow,

flew across the sky of hell,

transmitting,

the supreme will of the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva.

He is still here,

the Yin Court hasn't reached the time to fall.

After a while,

the Bodhisattva lowered his hands,

and said:

"Aren't you going yet?"

The middle-aged man wasn't in a hurry to move, but asked:

"I've always been curious, what is this all for?

It is said that the original monkey guarded the tomb of the original after his death until his own death;

now,

why did he suddenly run out?"

Some reasons,

the middle-aged man felt that he could understand them, could feel them,

he didn't think that the former Lord of Hell couldn't see clearly,

especially since,

that one was still the original!

The Mount Tai lineage, recognized as the strongest and most talented existence!

Since that's the case,

what is all this tossing about for?

Just to vent some anger?

"The son sells his grandfather's field without feeling the pain."

"Is it because of the last generation?"

When the middle-aged man mentioned the words "last generation," his tone changed obviously.

Because,

he had been in contact with the last Lord of Hell, and in fact, it could be said that he was promoted by the last Lord of Hell back then.

It's just that,

after the last Lord of Hell suddenly disappeared,

he chose to betray the Lord of Hell's lineage.

"The original was indeed remarkable,

he was born in the most turbulent era of hell, and he personally ended that era, creating the order that has continued in hell to this day.

If the original was born in this era,

you, us, including the subsequent Ten Attendants, would have no chance to take the stage at all.

However, the grace of Mount Tai will eventually dry up.

Very few imperial families in the Yang world last for more than three hundred years.

Hell is grand, in charge of Yin and Yang, following the principles of heaven, only the original dared to truly make this hell into his own family's world!

This generation after generation of the Lords of Hell,

extending from the turbulent era to the hands of the last generation,

such a long period of time,

such a long period of fortune,

after one's own family steps down, and then replaces them with one's own family again, is something that ordinary people can't do.

But there are always exceptions, and there is always an end."

Speaking of this,

the Bodhisattva laughed again,

and countless new golden lotuses grew around his feet, swaying in the wind.

"It has always been rumored in hell that I was the one who caused the last generation to disappear, thus ending the Lord of Hell's lineage.

In fact,

this causal relationship is really reversed.

It's not that he ended because I appeared;

but because he was about to be ended, that's why I appeared."

"But, in the end, it's over." The middle-aged man said in a deep voice.

"Yes, it's over."

In the eyes under the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva's mask, a golden light was revealed.

At this time,

his eyes were the eyes of the Kun.

He saw the collapse of the main city's walls,

saw that completely black monkey slaughtering everywhere,

saw the terrifying tide of ferocious beasts below.

At the same time,

he spoke:

"Li."

"I'm here."

"Do you know where these ferocious beasts come from?"

The middle-aged man replied, "The sealed land in the far west, the seal in that place can't be maintained after all."

"Once, I also thought that the original defeating the giants of the turbulent era and sealing them together was to bring peace to hell and end that chaotic era of Yin and Yang like a calamity."

"Isn't it?"

"How many years has it been since you last went to the Yang world?"

"It's been a few years."

"If you have nothing to do, you can go up and take a look, the changes in the Yang world are very big."

"Is that so? But the crimes and karmic debts of the dead souls I've been in charge of for thousands of years don't seem to have changed."

"You really can go up and take a look."

"Okay, what should I look at?"

"There's a new thing that has come out in the Yang world now,

I think it's very fitting to use it to describe the original's sealing of the giants of the turbulent years."

"What is it?"

"A battery."

——————

I have to go out today and travel, the journey is a bit rushed, there will only be one chapter today.